UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock Price

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $590.00 to $610.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $565.00 price objective (up previously from $536.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.16.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $520.74. 1,527,547 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,448,168. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard has a fifty-two week low of $395.55 and a fifty-two week high of $534.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $503.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $470.59. The firm has a market cap of $477.95 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This represents a 23.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. This represents a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 208,370 shares of company stock valued at $97,749,218. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after acquiring an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% during the third quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 19,020 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,392,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Sora Investors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 40.0% in the third quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,283,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 676,801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $334,237,000 after acquiring an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.